US Legalization of Gambling Stalled
The US has long been entertaining legalizing online gambling. There are debates. There are forums. There are legislators standing firm on each side. So where does that leave things? Stalled. So far the online gambling issue is still waiting for resolution. A lot of gambling companies believed that with the huge amount of tax revenue dollars, it would be a slam dunk to legalize gaming. So did many gaming customers. They thought the promise of bringing in millions would be enough to sway legislators, or at minimum sway enough legislators to push the issue forward. Despite their hopes, this is proving to not be the case. Recently Senator Harry Reid voiced his strong opinion against legalizing gambling online. He was thought to possibly be a supporter when he was not vocal on the issue, but he quickly put that to rest. His belief is that it would bring more problems to deal with and the cost of those problems could eat away at any monetary benefits coming into the market as a result.
Jim McDermott proposed legislation to allow online gambling and taxation into the market. He referred to it as Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, or IGRTEA. The purpose would be to legalize gambling and then take full advantage of the money from regulating it. Legislators could use the funds for a wide range of budgetary issues and deficits. Without the millions gambling would bring in, McDermott stated that there are few other options that could possibly bring in the same amount of dollars. There are also few options that could bring in the same amount of dollars consistently over the next few years. Overall he believes that the move would be a positive one for the country and help bring it out of its economic slump that much faster. Things are not looking good for the issue though. It has thus far been shot down and is still struggling to be heard for official debate. No one knows if gambling will be recognized as legal in the US- the sides are still drawn and fighting it out.
